Mets Rookie Makes Promising Debut, on the Mound and at the Plate

By ANDREW KEH

Published: July 27, 2012

PHOENIX -- In all, this was an auspicious beginning for Matt Harvey, a strapping right-hander who has engendered much hope, intrigue and scrutiny this season, especially during the Mets' recent free fall.

Making his major league debut Thursday against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, Harvey pitched five and a third scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out 11. The strikeout total set a team record for a pitcher during his debut, exceeding the eight recorded by Tom Seaver and Bill Denehy three days apart in 1967.

The 23-year-old Harvey had his impressive repertory on full display and overpowered the Arizona hitters from the start.

He struck out the first batter he faced, Gerardo Parra, with an 89-mile-per-hour slider and continued from there, impressively dispatching the Diamondbacks, firing fastballs that were clocked as high as 98 m.p.h. He struck out Arizona's third, fourth, and fifth hitters a combined six times.

Everything seemed to go right for Harvey -- and not just on the mound. In the second, he whacked a ball into center field that sailed over Parra's head. Harvey rumbled easily to second base for his first major league hit. In his next at-bat, he stroked a ball just beyond second base for another base hit.

He became the first player since 1900 to have at least 10 strikeouts and at least two hits in his major league debut, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Harvey was helped along by catcher Rob Johnson, who was also promoted from Class AAA this week. Johnson has become something of a mentor for Harvey, and Manager Terry Collins said before the game that he was brought into the team partly to help usher him through the outing.

Johnson's first trip to the mound occurred in the third after Harvey threw his second wild pitch of the inning, putting runners on second and third. Harvey then struck out Paul Goldschmidt with a 98-m.p.h. fastball to end the inning.

Harvey, who has had trouble with his control at times this year in Class AAA, did not allow his first walk until the fourth inning. He issued his second and third walks in the sixth, hastening his exit from the game.

Before the game Collins said he was hoping for some positive effects from Harvey as the Mets -- losers of 12 of their last 13 games -- tried to rebound from a disastrous homestand. As he left the game in the sixth, Harvey walked slowly to the dugout and received a round of applause from the Mets fans scattered among the announced crowd of 22,010.

The Mets' hitters contributed to any positive feelings the club was having, as Harvey was given the gift of a lead before he took the mound. Scott Hairston slashed a two-run double off the right-field wall in the top of the first inning, and the Mets added another run off Wade Miley, the Diamondbacks' left-handed starter, in the fourth on Johnson's sacrifice fly.

Johnson had been called up to replace Mike Nickeas, who was batting .168 this season. Johnson hit .313 in 11 game during a brief stint with the Mets earlier this season. Although Collins said that Johnson's promotion had ''a lot to do'' with Harvey's debut, he maintained that Johnson would not be Harvey's personal catcher.

''With a guy like Matt, we haven't seen him,'' Collins said. ''He has to pitch to his strengths, and obviously Rob knows those strengths better than we do. I think that'll help out a lot.''

Before the game, Johnson saw a large chunk of his responsibilities in the coming weeks centering on keeping Harvey, an intense competitor, calm on the mound.

''He gets awfully aggressive, and sometimes he needs to slow that down a bit and stay down in the zone,'' Johnson said of Harvey. ''He's got the ability to throw the ball where he wants to when everything's slowed down. He gets so amped up that he starts missing.''

DUDA'S FOCUS The Mets do not have a plan to shift Lucas Duda from right field, where he struggled defensively this year before being optioned to the minors earlier this week.

''He's there working on his bat,'' Terry Collins said of Duda. ''He's got to be comfortable, so when he gets in that batter's box, that becomes the primary focus.''

Collins said Duda would continue to play in right field or left field during his stint in the minors. But Collins said Wally Backman, who manages the Mets' Class AAA affiliate in Buffalo, would monitor Duda's comfort level and could move him to first base if his defensive responsibilities got in the way of his hitting.

''Play him in the outfield, and if he looks like he's uncomfortable out there or you see something, put him at first,'' Collins said. ''It's a lot easier to knock a ball down and flip it to the pitcher than it is to have a ball skip by you because you made a bad read, and now instead of a single it's a triple.''